and how he learned to trust his gut.
James Altucher talks with Gutierrez about his book Sheer Will: Learning to Lead When There is No Path. They
cover his relentless refusal to be average, his ADHD diagnosis at 65, the mistakes of his first year running Kellogg,
and what he learned negotiating with China and serving under President Bush. He also gives career advice for
people early in their working lives.
In this video
- Why Gutierrez calls struggle part of the price you pay, and why he says to welcome it
- Where his phrase "relentless refusal to be average" comes from, including childhood ADHD and wanting to prove
people wrong
- How an ADHD diagnosis at 65 reframed his career, including the role hyperfocus played in presentations and
business plans
- His two biggest early mistakes as Kellogg CEO: hiring outsiders who did not fit the culture, and the slow work of
getting the business back in shape. His advice to CEOs is to expect the first 12 months to be difficult
- Why after that first year he decided to follow his gut and 30 years of experience instead of what he thought a
CEO was technically supposed to do
- How to find your strengths: he says public speaking and financial management were the two areas he was good
at, and that school is for finding what you are good at and what you love
- Negotiating with China: he says the Chinese typically arrive with one or two asks while the U.S. brings a list of 20
or more, and that he saw the same dynamic with unions
- Why he advises young people to stay five to 10 years at a company they like
Mentioned
- Sheer Will: Learning to Lead When There is No Path by Carlos Gutierrez
- Kellogg
- President George W. Bush
- Jensen Huang of Nvidia
- Howard Lutnick
Timestamps:
00:00 China Negotiation Tactics
00:54 Relentless Refusal Average
02:16 Struggle Fuels Ambition
03:03 Kellogg Leadership Breakthrough
03:50 Product 19 Detour
04:33 Late ADHD Diagnosis
07:07 CEO Mistakes and Intuition
08:57 Finding Your Strengths
11:20 Commerce Secretary Reality
14:52 Media and First Amendment
16:04 Trump Trade Style
19:47 Tariffs and Tradeoffs
21:39 Handling China Fair Trade
23:10 China Meeting Tactics
25:38 Rare Earth Leverage
27:05 Contracts And Friendship
29:16 Business Vs Government
30:38 Making Tough Calls
32:48 Father And Risk
34:15 Entrepreneurship In AI Era
36:30 Disagreeing With Presidents
40:22 Career Advice And Closing
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